


Sleeping in the driveway

by HOPoverhere



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Jopper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 23:26:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13891356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HOPoverhere/pseuds/HOPoverhere
Summary: The second time Hopper slept in the Blazer parked in Joyce's driveway.Jopper fluff/angst





	Sleeping in the driveway

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for visiting my story :) This is my second Jopper fic.
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it :)

Joyce was fussing around trying to make dinner, while Will and El gathered around to watch Star Wars: Episode IV, just after the rest of the gang had left.

It was around 7pm, and Hopper would be coming to pick up El soon. She wanted to watch the movie one more time, to fully understand it without having Dustin and Lucas bicker with eachother after every scene. Will had offered to watch it with her again so he could explain where she would get confused. The boys were a loud bunch, especially when watching Star Wars. So Joyce was glad that it was only them two there that evening. She had been working the morning shift, while Hopper had to work all day and had asked whether she would mind having El over with Will in the afternoon so she won't spend the day all alone.

Joyce was glad to see them both bonding over something they enjoyed. They both needed it.

They had dinner, reluctantly having to pause the movie at Joyce's order.

It was after 9pm that Hopper knocked on the door to pick up El.

"Hey," Joyce said as he entered the door, relaxing in the inviting warmth of the house, and of finally getting off work and returning to El, and well, to Joyce.

"Hey, thanks for having her over."

She smiled as he said hi to El and Will, whilst rolling his eyes at the umpteenth time that he's seen them watch this movie.

"Come, have some dinner," she motioned to the table.

"Oh, no worries Joyce, we have to get going now. She's been here all day. Thanks anyway," he said exhaustedly.

"Ohh come one Hop. And you've been working all day! Sit down and have some dinner. The kids and I already ate."

"What about Jonathan?"

"He's having dinner at Nancy's tonight. Certainly better than my cooking!" she said with a chuckle.

He laughed a bit. "Well, anything's better than the TV dinners I got in my freezer. Huh, El?"

She did not hear what Hop said, too lost in the search for Princess Leia.

Joyce fixed him up a plate and gave him a beer. He thanked her, handed her a cigarette, and ate.

He felt they intruded too much of Joyce's hospitality. It was already 10.30pm.

"Come on El, we have to go. Thank Joyce and say bye to Will." He got up and went to put on his jacket.

"Ughhh, but the movie is just getting good!" She cried in a typical teenager's way.

"What, it just started getting good? Now? Exactly when I tell you to get up?" he said sarcastically. "Come on kiddo."

She protested again.

"Hey, what'd I just say?!" he said in a chief-of-police threatening type of way.

Both the kids were a bit scared when he spoke with that tone. It was the same tone he spoke to Mike, Dustin and Lucas when he first questioned them about Will and they drabbled on about Lord of the Rings.

Oh, right, it was The Hobbit.

Will was a tough little guy and he dared to speak, just with the worst idea possible for Hopper.

"Mom, can El sleep over tonight?" he said excitedly.

Hop had a rather scarily angry look on his face. Joyce looked at him with a smile that was about to laugh.

"Honey, let Hop see first, alright?" she said cheekily.

"Please dad can I stay?!" El pleaded.

"Please, Hopper!" Will jumped in.

He let out a sigh and rubbed his fingers on his eyes. She had never had a sleepover before, and it has been almost 4 months that she started school.

He looked at Joyce for help.

"What do you think?" he asked in a low voice.

"Well, it is pretty late, and tomorrow is Sunday and neither of us are working."

The kids burst out pleading again.

Hopper looked uncertain.

"You could stay here as well, if it makes you feel better. If you don't mind the couch."

He looked at her with slight surprise. "Oh I am expert at sleeping on couches!" he joked.

"Wait, is that a yes?!" Will asked excitedly.

"Yea yea, but listen kid," he said pointing a finger at El. "If you don't behave or I see anything being levitated in mid-air I'm gonna drag your ass outta' here in a minute. Okay?"

"Yes!" She said excitedly jumping around with Will. Her first sleepover. Poor kid, her dad was joining in as well.

Joyce nudged his elbow at his statement.

"What?"

"What?! You act all tough-Mr-Policeman when you knew you were going to let her stay in the first place." She said with a tease.

"Shut up."

She smirked at him and handed him the rest of her cigarette. Will and El finished the movie and ran to his room to build a pillow fort to sleep in.

Finally, there was some quiet in the kitchen and living area.

"Hey, I got a couple of shots left in an old whiskey bottle." She motioned to one of the cabinets in the kitchen.

She got out the bottle - which really had only about 5 shots worth of whiskey inside. Luckily they weren't planning on getting drunk. They just wanted to enjoy the company, and were lucky enough that both the kids were almost asleep and out of trouble.

They sat on the couch, smoking, while Joyce flipped through the channels on the TV.

"You can't even see anything with just flipping endlessly through the channels." He said joking at her rapid clicking of the remote, flashing the channels in a blink.

"There really isn't anything on."

"Joyce, it's 11pm on a Saturday in Hawkins. There is never anything going on."

"Well, we've only got this VCR here." She said pointing to the Star Wars tape Will and El had been watching.

He chuckled. "Yea, I guess we could, you know, keep up with the culture every once in a while."

She looked at him quizically. "What, you really want to watch it?"

He shrugged. "Well, I mean the kids like it so much, maybe we could try and see if we'll like it."

She started to laugh. "Well, there isn't anything else on this goddamn TV anyway."

She put in the VCR and they began watching Star Wars: Episode IV.

Both were still smoking, and both had a confused look on their faces.

"Oh look, Indy!" Hop exclaimed.

"Yea, he's Solo-something."

"Han Solo." Hop said.

Joyce shot him an amused look.

"Yea, El was talking about him with the Wheeler kid on the phone."

"And you were overhearing?" she said sarcastically.

"Of course." He smiled, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

"Come on, Mike is a good kid."

"Yea yea, I know. But still."

She nodded in understanding.

"You know, he reminds me a bit of you." She said jokingly motioning at Han Solo.

"Oh, because he's good looking and is kickass?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nooo. Because he's cocky."

He looked at her impish grin.

"Well, I don't know much about this Solo guy but all I know is that both Indy and I look great in hats."

"See, cocky." She laughed at his stupid remark.

He grinned and nodded in acknowledgement.

"You know, I've missed this. Just us two together," he said.

"Exactly, when have we spent anytime alone together smoking and watching TV in the past 25 years?!"

"Good point."

"But yea, I know what you mean."

"But, I mean, what the hell is this? I can't fucking understand a thing." He said motioning to the movie.

She was shocked for a split second, thinking he was talking about this relationship they shared. Whatever it was.

"I mean, is the Death Star a planet or just this moving mass in space?"

"No, it's Darth Vader's ship. It's where all the bad guys are."

"Well, sure as hell looks like a planet to me."

She laughed into her empty glass.

\----------

The movie went on for a while, both of them talking about anything else besides Star Wars.

As it finished, the now empty bottle of whiskey had been substituted with two cans of beer.

He looked at her with a slight sleepiness and tenderness in his eyes. "Hey, thanks for today. And for letting her stay. Well, letting us stay."

"Yea I saw you being paranoid."

"Look who's talkin'." He said with a smirk.

She smiled, understanably.

"Anytime, Hop."

He kept looking at her. Admiring her soft lips and eyes strong and fierce as her.

She noticed him, and her body froze.

He leaned slowly in and pressed his lips softly on hers, his hand gently placed on her cheek. It was soft, he did not want to express the extent of how much he wanted this.

She kissed back a bit. But then her senses and anxiety fell into place and she pushed him away.

The look on her face said it all.

He was horrified, disappointed and mostly ashamed.

"Jo- Joyce. I'm so sorry." His voice was a cracked whisper.

"I can't Hop." She said, almost crying.

He was the first man to touch her after Bob. After they both had seen him getting torn by a pack of demodogs. It had been nearly two years.

How could he think this would be a good idea.

He got up, flustered, and tried not to look at her.

"I'm sorry Joyce. For everything. I'll come for El in the morning."

"No, Hop." She said without much effort.

He grabbed his jacket and hat and went out, trying not to make too much noise with the door.

She was shivering. She heard the Blazer's door being shut, slammed almost. She got up off the couch and left.

She checked on Will and El and went straight to her bedroom. Not that she had been expecting to sleep much.

He was cursing to himself.

He started the ignition and something clicked in him.

He turned off the truck. He knew that he felt miserable enough that if he drove off, he'd end up at a bar getting too drunk and leaving off with some random stranger. Luckily, he was not too out his senses yet, and knew he was not going to fall for his old habits again.

He locked the truck, pulled down his hat over his eyes and tried to sleep.

He felt disgusting. She wasn't ready, he didn't know if she wanted any of this at all. He was just being selfish.

Perhaps things would be better in the morning.

\----------

She couldn't sleep. She kept thinking of everything. Will. Bob. Hopper and what had just happened that night. Or what has been meaning to happen for a very long time and happened this night and she found out she wasn't ready.

She felt a weight pressing on her chest. She couldn't breathe.

She got up to have a glass of water, and maybe a smoke. Hopper always left a packet of Camels whenever he came over.

She quietly checked on Will and El again; they were sound asleep under heaps of blankets in their pillow fort. She smiled at them, and suddenly remembered that she'd have to see Hopper again tomorrow when he'd come to pick up El. Maybe she would get Jonathan to take her.

She walked into the kitchen and poured a glass of water. She lit up a cigarette and smoked calmly. Still standing up, her arms tightly wrapped around her to calm down her tension.

Staring through the window, she saw Hopper's Blazer still parked in the driveway.

"Dammit, Hop," she muttered.

She put out the half-smoked cigarette in the full ashtray and headed outside.

He was sleeping, his body leaned against the driver's window. Lost with his mouth open with a bit of drool dripping out.

She knocked on his window, forcefully on purpose.

He got startled at the sound and his hand automatically reached for his gun holster.

He calmed down upon seeing her and unlocked the car.

She climbed in the passenger's seat, the cold numbing her senses.

"Jesus Hop, you didn't have to stay out here."

"No, no Joyce. I'm an idiot. Sorry about, well, everything."

He hadn't quite fully awoken from his slumber yet, but the cold realisation of his self disgust quickly hit him down to earth.

"I'm sorry. I don't blame you if you don't want to talk to me any longer... It's alright. The kids can see eachother at school, we don't have to meet."

"Hop." She said tilting her head in her usual manner.

She grabbed her his hand softly, her fingers intertwining between his.

He looked at her hand. And then at her.  
He could not process this.

The look on her face said it all.

He leaned in and this time she moved closer.

Their kiss was soft at first. Then they got lost in how long they were waiting to do this. To finally be together.

As they broke to catch a breath, he looked at her, not believing his eyes.

"Are you ok about this?" He asked, holding her in his arms.

"Yea, I'm sorry for before. I just, got scared I guess."

"Don't be. I love you Joyce." He had been meaning to say that for too long.

She smiled and for a moment felt safe.

They kissed again, more passionately this time.

She lead him onto the back bench of the truck. She felt him smile against her lips.

"Are we really gonna' do this here when we're just outside your fully furnished house?!" He asked with a smirk.

"As if we never did it in your car before."

"Oh, you bet!"

Clothes came off quickly. There was no hesitation, no time wasting. This had been long coming and they didn't want to wait any longer.

They needed to get accustomed to eachother in this situation - it had been 25 years after all.

Their rhythm was unsettled, producing some light laughs from the both of them.

He sighed as he entered her, they both had longed for it.

There was no playing around. Just a catharsis of feelings.

He asked a couple of times if she was alright, still not believing this was finally happening.

They came more quickly then they hoped for, but that was alright. 25 years didn't really ask for taking it slow.

They both relaxed into eachother. He laid down on her, his elbows trying to keep his weight from crushing her below him.

"I love you too." She said silently into his neck after their breathing slowed down.

She could feel him smile, the way his beard tickled on her skin.

They laid there for a while, enjoying eachothers' embrace. Though Hop couldn't really fit comfortably on the seat.

"You scared me a bit today. Thought I wasn't going to see you anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

"So, what is this going to be like, us giving it another shot?" She asked.

He looked at her slowly. "Well, next time we hopefully both last longer."

"Hop!" she slapped his arm, laughing.

"But yea, do we tell the kids?"

"Oh they wouldn't give us a break."

"You want to sneak around do you?" He grinned.

"Well," she blushed. "Let's just see how it goes and then when the time is right we'll tell them."

"Yea yea you just want to sneak around like we did back then."

She smiled her usual shy smile.

"Come on, let's go inside. You're going to wake up with a backache tomorrow."

"All worth it." He said with a grin as he kissed her.

They both put on their clothes and quietly got out of the truck.

"So, do I still have to sleep on the couch?"


End file.
